'Skullmonger' funeral homes compete for corpses

Funeral salesman who goes by the nickname Peluca, which means "Wig" in English, right, waits at a...
Funeral salesman who goes by the nickname Peluca, which means "Wig" in English, right, waits at a crime scene for the arrival of relatives of a murdered man lying on the road in hopes of selling his services in Guatemala City. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Gabriel, centre, and other funeral salesmen try to sell funeral packages to relatives of a man...
Gabriel, centre, and other funeral salesmen try to sell funeral packages to relatives of a man who was shot inside a public bus in Guatemala City. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A funeral salesman who goes by the nickname Manteca, which means "Lard" in English, left, watches...
A funeral salesman who goes by the nickname Manteca, which means "Lard" in English, left, watches women cry over the body of a murdered relative after he informed them of the killing in Guatemala City. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Morticians prepare a corpse for a funeral in the Valle del Sol funeral home, which was once a...
Morticians prepare a corpse for a funeral in the Valle del Sol funeral home, which was once a mechanic shop in Guatemala City. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Funeral home salesman Gabriel, who did not want to provide his last name, tries to sell the...
Funeral home salesman Gabriel, who did not want to provide his last name, tries to sell the services of Valle del Sol funeral home over the phone to relatives of a recently deceased person in Guatemala City. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

They're called "calaqueros" - skullmongers - and they make a living off Guatemala City's infamously high murder rate.

They chase ambulances, wait outside morgues or speed to crime scenes, trying to be the first to reach family members of the dead and sell their coffin-wake-funeral packages for as little as $150.

These mobile morticians constitute a completely unregulated - and growing - business that caters to inner city poor.

Competition is fierce. Some even pay police and firefighters to tip them off when a murder happens.

They offer everything from embalming to help with the red tape of acquiring a death certificate or burial permit.

And they operate from any location.

One funeral home is run out of a former mechanics garage. Caskets are sold in the front of the garage. In the back, among the old gaskets and engine blocks, the corpses are disemboweled, cleaned, embalmed and dressed for burial.

With its gang warfare and drug trafficking, Guatemala has one of the world's highest murder rates. The capital, Guatemala City, often makes the top 10 in various rankings of the world's most dangerous cities.

 

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